Saving Hubcaps

[71_Bronco 1,072]

My Bronco 14 I bought came with a set of complete hubcaps. The ones that are smooth, with the horse-head & tire logo stamped in, and painted black & red, like the ones shown below.

(Not my pic)

I am going to use them on my Bronco, as I really like them and think they add a touch of old-school class to the tractor.

When I pulled them off, they looked like they were a little dirty, but for the most part, in very good shape. When I cleaned them off, and waxed them quickly with a quick-detailing spray wax, I noticed that the "dirt" was little spots of rust. The rust wasn't through the chrome, but just enough to discolor it slightly to make it look "spotty" almost.

Also, the coloring on the horse & tire are flaking and faded on the center.

I will take some pics of them tonight, to show exactly what shape they are in.

So my question, is how to "restore" them. Can I clean them somehow, maybe a good ol' buffing? Or would it be wise to send them out for re-chrome?

Oh, and yes, I do have all the little clips for the back of them, none were missing thankfully.

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

I've cleaned up some rusty chrome with tin foil and then waxed. It was on an air cleaner that was 90% covered in rust spots and it looks much better now.

http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html

[6wheeler 603]

I've cleaned some up with a good chrome cleaner/polish. I prefer Mothers myself. As far as the paint,? I would touch it up by hand , but make sure there is no wax on it if you do touch them up. good luck Pat

[71_Bronco 1,072]

I've cleaned up some rusty chrome with tin foil and then waxed. It was on an air cleaner that was 90% covered in rust spots and it looks much better now.

http://www.robertscy...rome-clean.html

Wow, never heard that trick. Since the surfaces are not pitted or flaking, that trick should work well. I'll give it a try tonight after dinner.

I'll be sure to take some "before & after" pics to show how well it works,

THANKS!!!

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Okay, got pics. Wow, they were allot better then I remembered. If you look in the first pic, you can see in the top right part where I did the aluminum, where there are allot less pits and discoloring.

The 2 fronts are in super good shape. The 2 backs are in pretty good shape, but the insides of the backs are a little rusty. How should I take care of that?

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

That looks pretty good. I can't see any of the rust dots at all on the half you did. Nice!!

Even though the backs don't look to be chromed I read that it does help with rust on other metals but obviously won't look like the front. And doing the back shouldn't harm it as far as I can tell. If it were me and I was bored I'd to the backs (or at least test it out on one to see what it does). Or you could coat the back with one of those rust converter paints.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

That looks pretty good. I can't see any of the rust dots at all on the half you did. Nice!!

Even though the backs don't look to be chromed I read that it does help with rust on other metals but obviously won't look like the front. And doing the back shouldn't harm it as far as I can tell. If it were me and I was bored I'd to the backs (or at least test it out on one to see what it does). Or you could coat the back with one of those rust converter paints.

This is what I was thinkin of doing. Cleaning it up as much as I could, masking off the outer area, and then spraying the inside to prevent rust from forming again.

Was thinking about re-chroming them at one time, but they are already in damn-good shape. Plus this is my worker, so a little spot here and there wont really bother me too much.

[Ken B 3,141]

On certain models I'm a hub cap kinda guy. Keep em dry with some good wax on em and they'll look great for yrs. to come.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

I use oxilic acid (Wood Bleach) works great! I agree Keep them polished!

~Duke

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Thanks so much guys for all the input, greatly appreciated.

2 questions though. On the rear caps, there are 2 spots on each that look like a pointed can opener was taken to the outer lip and holes were put in. They are the same on both rears, 2 per hubcap, exactly 180 degrees apart. I was thinking they were used for draining or for hanging when they chromed them, but noticed the holes were not in the little ones. Anybody know what they were for?

And my other question, will these fit on an RJ-58? I would think the rears should (Bronco has 12's in the rear), but I think the fronts on the Bronco are 8" vs the 6" on the RJ if I recall correctly.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

I've cleaned up some rusty chrome with tin foil and then waxed. It was on an air cleaner that was 90% covered in rust spots and it looks much better now.

http://www.robertscy...rome-clean.html

Thanks Doctor Furrburger that was some good reading! They also made some paste I got from my local Bike Shop that works really good

it has oxilic acid in it Ill try and find it later. here is a post from 2009 where I used wood bleach fixin up my grandaughters garage sale bike!

[Don1977 604]

I'm not much into wheel covers on tractors, but I would clean up the rust on the inside and prime and paint.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Oh, forgot to add, those pics I took are the "Before" pics. I only did about 1/3 of one of the fronts to see if it would work, and as you can see, it did.

Got tomorrow off, so the morning will be spent giving these bad-boys a good scrubbin

[Kelly 1,029]

I think all my rears have those little holes near the edge also, not sure what they are for? I would clean and paint the insides of them, with rust oleum works great over rust, and WAX the crap out of them when your done.

And if you ever need the clips they are the same clips for semi center caps and can be had a most truck stops.

[Jake Kuhn 1,554]

Nick,the front rims on a rj are a 8'' rim,Jake

[6wheeler 603]

Nice job on the outside. Here's what I did on my 520. Mothers cleaner/polish on the outside and diesel fuel and steel wool on the inside. Stinky, but it works. and I did not paint them. But, it seems to have stopped the rusting and doesn't affect the outside (which I can see). Pat

[EdG. 5]

Maybe you could paint the insides with POR15 paint. The POR does stand for 'Paint Over Rust'

You can even get it in silver color.